It focuses on Richie Finestra, American Century Records founder and president, whose passion for music and discovering talent has gone by the wayside.
With his American Century Records on the verge of being sold, a life-altering event rekindles Finestra's professional fire, but it may leave his personal life in ruins.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.570 million household viewers and gained a 0.21 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
In March 2016, HBO announced that the sixth episode of the series would be titled "Cyclone", and that it would be written by Carl Capotorto and Erin Cressida Wilson, and directed by Nicole Kassell.
Club gave the episode a "B–" grade and wrote, "Once writers Carl Capotorto and Erin Cressida Wilson add a traumatic car accident to the mix, the wild grimness becomes somehow more unbelievable than it already was.
But even among the clichés; even among the deceitful ghost sidekick, Richie's stereotypically dark HBO protagonist, and Devon's oppressed artist-turned-housewife, 'Cyclone' at least has some alluring visuals and a glimpse of salvation that's far more interesting than any of the hedonism has been so far.
"[6] Noel Murray of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Even at its most aggravating, Vinyl maintains a certain surface appeal, too polished to dismiss.
"[7] Gavin Edwards of The New York Times criticized the twist by writing, "any viewer who is surprised to discover that Ernst is actually a cocaine-induced hallucination was probably also shocked at the end of each episode of Scooby-Doo.
"[8] Dan Martin of The Guardian wrote, "Vinyl's at its strongest when it makes the most of its setting, weaker when doing the generic anti-hero stuff and little else.
"[9] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Cyclone is the scariest ride on Coney Island.
"[10] Robert Ham of Paste wrote, "I was cold on her storyline from the start, but I'm learning to really enjoy her journey of self-discovery and self-reliance, as she pushes away from her crazed home life and back into the art world that she left behind to raise a family.